Designers Recreate Medieval Weapons for New Robin Hood

To bring director Ridley Scott's battle for Sherwood Forest to life, designers had to re-create 13th-century weapons, from fire grenades to battering rams. Popular Mechanics goes behind the scenes with the creators of the new Robin Hood to see how it was done.

In Hollywood, it takes an army to equip one. For Robin Hood, out May 14, designers needed to create an authentic-looking army fresh from the Crusades and outfit it with weapons. To make sure it was historically accurate, designers hit the books—and the museums, including the British Museum in London and the Royal Armories in Leeds. They even drew from unusual sources, like effigies in churches.

Once the designs were drawn up and approved by director Ridley Scott, it was time to create the weaponry. While everything would have been made by hand back in the day, the process was sped up by using machined pieces, says armorer Simon Atherton. "We have two months to make 700 swords," he says. "Instead of making them by hand, we receive the components 90 percent finished. Then it's our job to bring them back down and make them look as if they were handmade." The materials used were also altered for speed and safety: Most swords used in the film were made of bamboo, not steel, while the battering ram created by production designer Arthur Max was made of fiberglass.

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Though designers tried to stay accurate to the look of the ancient weapons, there were times when they strayed from historical convention. Crowe's helmet, for example, is a combination of several different types of helmets available at the time. Likewise, Max's team took liberties with the ram. "Most of the battering rams are much simpler than this," he says. "We did the homework and from what was described as happening, we invented this whole design."

The team's attention to detail results in weapons that look like the real thing, even if they aren't quite. And that's exactly how it should be. "The only time you think about this stuff is when it goes wrong," Atherton says. "If we did our job well, you should be thinking, 'God, I'm there.' You should be thinking this is real."